A Bouffalant In The Blizzard
by Julia Lucrezia Hanazono
Summary: When two young Natu get lost in a terrible snowstorm, they're close to the doors of death. But a Bouffalant comes to save them in the nick of time. One-shot.


**This one-shot was inspired by a set of Pokemon card images I found online. Hope you enjoy it!**

_A Friend In The Blizzard_

My sister and I were close to death at one point in our lives.

We Natu were gathered in a small field, pecking berries and eating to our heart's content. Some of the Xatu sensed that there was snow coming. But my sister and I weren't paying attention. We had wandered away from the group because we wanted to go into the large meadow, and we weren't allowed to go in there. The Xatu told us there were wild Bouffalant in there, and from what we heard, they were very dangerous. But I was always one for adventure, and my sister followed me everywhere I went.

That day, my sister and I played in the meadow. It was wide and thick, with all kinds of flowers in different colors sprouting up from the ground. We saw some dark clouds hanging over the meadow, but we didn't think much of it. We were too busy having fun. We had no idea that those clouds turned out to be snow clouds.

My sister was the one who saw a snowflake float gently down to the ground. Then two. Then down came a harsh blizzard. The wind was so strong, we were almost blown away, had our tiny talons not managed to clutch some roots that popped out from the ground. The snow came down in sheets. The snowflakes were so huge that they were the size of our beaks. Snow piled up so much that they were much taller than the two of us put together.

I knew we were in big trouble. The snow fell so hard and so fast that it was nigh impossible to see anything in front of us. Our feet were numb, and they felt like cinder blocks as we trudged through the snow. My sister fell into the snow a couple times, but I always managed to use my beak to catch the feather on her head and pull her out, not that it did much good. It didn't help that we couldn't fly, as our wings were still underdeveloped. But even if we could fly, it was nigh impossible to do so in this harsh weather.

We managed to find a small clearing with rocks, and the two of us scurried over there. But it was out in the open, and the snow and the harsh winds still managed to get through. I cuddled next to my freezing sister, hoping I could at least keep her warm. But I knew there wasn't much either of us could do. If only we hadn't wandered away from the group. If only I had paid attention…

For a fleeting moment, I was convinced we were done for.

However, my sister caught sight of a large shadowy figure coming toward us. We heard the strong sound of hooves pressing against the snow. The shadow was huge, far larger than the two of us put together. I immediately stood in front of my sister, ready for battle. I wasn't going to let anybody hurt her, but I wasn't one to think before I acted, and I often liked to show off, even though I was weak just like all other Natu.

Finally, the figure came into view, and it was what the Xatu had told us were dangerous.

A Bouffalant!

"Stay away from us, you bully!" I yelled, my sister trembling behind me.

The Bouffalant said nothing. All it did was tilt its large head at us for a moment before bending down to sniff us with its big nose. Sniff sniff. It really tickled. "Are you...alright?" He asked with a deep, rich voice.

"Uh…" I didn't know what to say.

"Please...help us…" My sister whimpered weakly. She was going fast.

Bouffalant could definitely hear the pain and weakness in her voice, and seemed to understand the situation. Without a word, the Bouffalant kneeled down, showing off its large, curly chocolate brown afro. "Get inside my hair. It's warm."

My sister hopped in there without any hesitation at all. I hesitated for a moment, thinking it was a trick. The Bouffalant were dangerous, the Xatu told us. But my entire body was freezing, and I knew that if we didn't get out of here, we would be dead. Swallowing my pride, I joined my sister and hopped into the Bouffalant's hair.

How warm and nice it felt to be out of the blizzard! Bouffalant's hair was warm, thick, and impossibly curly. But it felt nicer than the grass we would sit on in the thickets. My body no longer felt cold and heavy. My sister had fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful and content. Soon, I couldn't keep my eyes open. Without meaning to, I fell asleep right next to her, pacified by the feeling of a body below me moving step by step, followed by a pause.

The sound of the roaring wind eventually faded. I was awakened by faint sunbeams coming through the curls in Bouffalant's massive hair. My body didn't feel as weak and heavy as it once did, and I managed to peek my head out from Bouffalant's hair.

The sight was beautiful. The snow had finally stopped. A lot of the snow had melted because the sun was beating down on it. Some of the remaining snow glittered in the sunlight, sparkling like jewels.

"Hey! Wake up! The snow's stopped," I ducked down into Bouffalant's hair and shook my sister awake. Much to my relief, she was alive and okay.

My sister rubbed her eyes with her tiny wings to force herself awake. "Is the snow gone yet?" She groaned with a big yawn.

"Yep! Come on! It's pretty out!" I insisted. Alert and awake, my sister hopped out of Bouffalant's hair and stared at the sparkling snow, in awe of its beauty.

"Wow...it's so pretty…" My sister mused.

"Are you two alright, now?" The Bouffalant below us asked in a kind voice.

"Yep! We're A-OK! Thanks a lot for helping us," I told him. The Xatu were wrong. Bouffalant aren't scary. They're actually nice.

Bouffalant smiled. "You're welcome. The snow has passed. Want to go get some berries? There are some Oran berries around here, and I reckon your stomachs are rumbling."

Right on cue, my stomach growled, begging for some berries. My sister's stomach did the same. The three of us broke out into hearty laughter, happy that we could put the bad situation behind us.

So me, my sister, and Bouffalant walked through some fields. It was nice seeing everything while we were all cuddled up in his hair. The sparkling icicles hanging from the tree branches, the flowers completely encased in ice, the warm sun on our skin. Everything was just enchanting, and now that the blizzard was over, we could see everything a lot better.

Bouffalant found an Oran berry tree about a mile from where we were. We hopped out of his hair as he rammed himself against the tree. BOOM! It was cool to see all the Oran berries rain down on us like snow. My sister and I wasted no time treating ourselves to sweet, sweet Oran berries.

My sister noticed that Bouffalant wasn't eating any. "Aren't you going to eat some?" She asked innocently.

"No thanks. You're probably hungrier than I am, and we Bouffalant can handle the cold better than you can," Bouffalant told her.

She had eaten at least two whole Oran berries, which was enough to completely fill our stomachs. But she picked another Oran berry up and hopped over to Bouffalant. "You can have this one. Thank you for saving us."

Bouffalant just stared at it like he had forgotten what Oran berries were for. But I guess it was because he was surprised that she thanked him for saving us. With a smile, he nodded gratefully and ate the Oran berry. I tapped my sister on the head, giving her a good pat for doing a good deed. She giggled, liking it, too.

The two of us decided to stay with Bouffalant and play for a while. We hopped on and off his afro, he took us around on his back and walked around, it was fun! Soon, the time had come for us to say goodbye. It was sad. I wanted to play with him some more. But our group was nearby, and we knew we had to go and reunite with them.

The Xatu were both relieved and angry at the same time, and one of them gave us some harsh scoldings for being so reckless. But I didn't mind. I was just happy my sister and I were safe. I hoped we would see Bouffalant again some day.


End file.
